Overview
- A memo from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promises EU countries will shoulder legal and financial exposure tied to a proposed €140 billion Ukraine loan, including risks that persist after asset immobilisation ends.
- The guarantees address Belgian concerns linked to assets held at Brussels-based Euroclear and to a bilateral investment treaty with Russia that could fuel legal claims.
- Belgium previously blocked the plan at the October 23 EU summit and leaders pushed a final decision to December as they debated how to use frozen Russian reserves.
- Euroclear chief Valérie Urbain said the depository is prepared to challenge any confiscation order in court and warned that even indirect seizure could deter investment and harm the eurozone.
- France’s Europe minister Benjamin Haddad argued that loan proceeds secured by income from immobilized Russian assets should fund purchases of European weapons and said outright confiscation would breach international law.